Kentucky Derby Mane Character: Ride On Curlin

Trainer: "Bronco" Billy Gowan of Shepherdsville, Ky.

Owner: Dan Dougherty of Louisville

Jockey: Calvin Borel of Louisville

Family ties: Ride On Curlin is a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, an unraced 2-year-old who finished third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby in his third career start but went on to take the Preakness Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic. His mom is the stakes-placed Magical Ride, a daughter of Grade I winner Victory Ride and from a strong female family.

How he got here: Ride On Curlin has more Derby points (55) than any other horse who hasn't won a stakes. He finished fourth in last year's Iroquois and third in the Grade I Champagne and this year was third in Oaklawn Park's Grade III Southwest and Grade II Rebel and second in the $1 million, Grade I Arkansas Derby.

Running style: He won on the lead in setting an Ellis Park track record for 5 ½ furlongs (1:03) in a maiden race, won an allowance race from just off the pace and closed from well back in the Champagne. Gowan is hoping Borel gives Ride On Curlin a trip just like the jockey did with Super Saver in 2010 to win his third Kentucky Derby in four years: settling into a stalking position and saving ground on the rail throughout.

Nickname: Curly.

What they say: "Every race, he comes out of it better than he went in," says exercise rider Bryan Beccia, who also was the morning rider of 2001 Derby winner Monarchos. "He's doing the same thing Monarchos was doing. I wouldn't trade places with anyone – even California Chrome."

Ride On Curlin likes to play with the ball tethered outside his stall door. He loves to lay his head on his hay net while the sun shines into the shedrow, reports groom Bridget Lambert.

"He's actually really good around for a stud," Lambert said. "The main problem is catching him because he wants to bite you all the time. But now we've got him where he'll drop his tongue, and you can grab his tongue and put the chain on him… But he's not mean. He had my thumb in his mouth when he was getting ready for the (Arkansas Derby) and Billy was putting on bandages. We had to pry his mouth open. But if he'd been mean, he'd have taken the whole thing off.

"He's a pretty cool horse. He's got a lot of class about him. He likes to rear up in the shedrow, but race day he's professional all the way. He's got a lot of personality, and he's getting more and more.

Rees writes for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal